| Options for Partnering |
| Networking |
Organizations have a networking relationship when they
exchange information in order to help each organization do a
better job. Networking requires the least amount of commitment
and time from organizations and can in itself have significant
positive results. Networking can also be a good starting point
for people to work together in other ways. |
| Cooperation |
When organizations cooperate, they not only share information
and make adjustments in their services - they share resources to
help each other do a better job. In a cooperative relationship,
organizations may share staff, volunteers, expertise, space,
funds, and other resources. Cooperating requires more trust and
a greater investment in time than either networking or
coordination. In order to enter into a cooperative relationship,
organizations also have to let go of some turf issues.
Organizations have to be willing to share the ownership and the
responsibility, to risk some hassles, and to reap the rewards of
their efforts together. |
| Collaboration |
In a collaborative relationship, organizations help each other
expand or enhance their capacities to do their jobs. In
collaborative relationships, people begin to see each other as
partners rather than competitors. This shift in view is profound
in a society that has had so much emphasis on individualism.
Organizations that collaborate often share risks and
responsibilities, and in doing so, each organization, to some
extent, is joining in the interests of the other. Additionally,
all the organizations can and should share the credit and
recognition. Collaboration is a much bigger enterprise than
networking, coordinating, and cooperating; but the potential for
change can also be greater. It implies a much higher level of
trust, risk taking, sharing of turf, and commitment. |
| Multisectoral Partnerships |
Multisector partnerships are similar to collaborations, but
they have both greater potential for change and greater
challenges. In multisector collaboration, private, public, and
nonprofit organizations from different parts of the community
and often ordinary citizens, form a partnership to solve
systemic problems in a community, such as a dysfunctional
neighborhood, a failing educational system, a poor business
climate, a polluted lake, or an unskilled workforce.
Complex and intertwined problems like these require
cooperation throughout a community in order to make positive
changes. No one organization or even one sector can make
significant movement without the help and cooperation of the
other sectors. Multisector partnerships are more complex and
challenging than the other organizational relationships.
Multisector collaboration is a long-term enterprise in which the
rewards can be great, but so is the investment of time and
resources. It requires a high level of trust, a compelling need,
and the will to make a change. Often, developing trust and a
commitment to the broader common good takes a period of months,
or even a year or two, depending on the scope of the project and
the initial level of trust.
Multisector collaboration has the greatest potential for
communities to become empowered and more democratic. In
multisector collaboration, community members can become equal
players with business and government in making decisions that
affect their community, their environment, and their lives. |
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